Flyers' Danny Briere Suffers Injury In Germany

By jakepavorsky

Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The end of the NHLlockout is looming (again), but it is possible the Philadelphia Flyers will not be in full force when they return to action. According to Eishockeynews.de (and brought to light by Hockeybuzz.com blogger Bill Meltzer) Flyers winger Danny Briere was injured in action with his German team Eisbären Berlin. With the help of Google Translate, the article read this:

DEL-record champions Eisbären Berlin will miss in the coming weeks on superstar Daniel Brière. The Canadian striker, who had only this week extended his contract until the end of the NHL lockout, retreated in a 3-1 win against the Polar Bears on Friday after a Ingolstadt unpunished Slashing to an overextension of the wrist and a bone bruise. The striker is not the Hauptstädtern two to three weeks are available.

Although the translation is a little rough, it seems as though Briere took a slashing to the wrist, causing a hyperextension and a bone bruise. As the German article points out, Briere had signed a contract extension with the team until the completion of the DEL season, which isn’t until March. However, Collective Bargaining negotiations seem to be going well, Briere seems destined to leave Germany before seasons’ end. The two to three week recovery timeline would allow the 35 year old Canadian to return, at the latest, on January 19th, the day the NHL is targeting as the start of the 2012 season.

If this is the end of Briere’s time in Germany, it was certainly successful. In 21 games, he scored 10 goals and added 24 assists, and his 34 points were a team high for Berlin. Unfortunately for him, Briere’s injury will force him to miss the German version of the Winter Classic, as Eisbären Berlin was set to take on Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Nürnberg outdoors on January 5th.

Jake Pavorsky is a contributor for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter@JakePavorsky.